Brothers Unknown
by Sunflare Glaze
Summary: A crossover between Vampire Hunter D and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night's Alucard. Two brothers without any knowledge of the other, brought together by fate to overcome a darkness from both of their past.
1. Prologue

**BROTHERS UNKNOWN**

**Prologue**

The ceremonial dagger descended upon the oblivious child of twelve winters. As the cold steel pierced his heart, he continued to stare off into nothingness. He made not a sound, not even the slightest whimper. Blood began pouring out of the mortal wound but the enchantment stayed firm, until his existence was no more. The boy's life essences continued to cascade out of his body, unto the altar he laid on and down either side where each drop was landing onto two grooves on the floor.

The dark priest watched with anticipation. He stood tall at six feet, wrapped in one solid, rusted color robe. With what little light the room gave, the priest had his hood down, showing his long, thick, raven colored hair. The unholy man appeared as though he has never seen the sun with his ghastly white skin. His eyes were the most characteristic of his features; they were a very light blue, which some has mistaken for white. Anyone who gazed upon those eyes could feel true wisdom, power, and terror.

The blood had flown out beautifully and precisely onto the grooves that began guiding the liquid to the northern wall. Following the blood, the priest fell into a cold, demonic chant. As the small streams continued to feed the wall, the chant intensified, causing the essences to fill every crack between each brick. The priest slammed his hand on the wall, completing the spell and freezing the blood in place.

Nothing else happened. Calmly, the dark priest waited. After ten minutes, the wall began to glow a soft neon blue, making out a map of Western Europe. In another ten minutes, a brighter light of white shined brightly in former Italy.

The priest smiled softly. "Finally, I'm half-way there. Everything is going exactly as I planned," he paused, followed by a scowl, "Until now. What were you thinking Dustaya?"

Far to the shadows knelt an alluring woman. Her magnificence was almost impossible to be placed on a human but not to a demon. She wore a tight leather corset, which matched her tight thong. On top of her corset rested a pair of exposed large breasts. Though her revealing appearance was covered by her wings, which were folded in front of her, the priest was well aware of her lustful body. She kept her head down low, coving her face with her curly, fiery hair.

"My apologies, Lord Axle," the succubus replied.

"I needed the sacrifice _without_ drawing attention to my mission. And you bring me the mayor's son," Axle softly spoke.

"He was the only virgin of the proper age you desired."

"Indeed," nodded Axle. The mission was more important than keeping the knowledge secret. Of all the children of the age of twelve, most of them would likely have had their first sexual experience or could've lost their innocence at an earlier age. The boy, the mayor's son, was carefully watched by Dustaya. As tradition stated, no noble wanted to disgrace their family, so their children would remain a virgin until their spouse was appointed and the marriage was sealed. This child was a guarantee that the ceremony would succeed.

_Ah, but will the mission succeed? To what price will this child's life cost me?_ thought Axle with a smile.

"No matter. My ancestors have armed me well. After they eradicated both the Belmont and Hellsing clans, there is now no one powerful enough to defeat me. Now," paused Axle, grinning widely, "You've seen the image. Go get me my tooth."


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

**Fate's Intervention**

The cybernetic horse appeared huge and graceful as it continued its trot between the cornfields, on the trail leading to its rider's destination. The beast was a sight of raw power and beauty, just like the one riding him. Both seemed to be as one and as dark and mysterious as the night they rod in.

The rider, the vampire hunter, was dressed completely in perfectly fitting leather, with matching knee high boots, full body cape, and a wide brim hat. His long, dark curls bounced gently off his shoulders and most of his back. His skin was fair as snow, completing his inhumanly beauty.

Indeed, the vampire hunter was not completely human. Born long ago, he was given life as a mixed breed creature. Half of him felt kindness and mercy, that of his human side, and the other half, his vampiric side, shown agility and fierce power. He was a dunpeal. He had all the strengths of a vampire but shared few weaknesses.

He had incredible strength and speed. The vampire hunter felt the hunger for blood but could sustain the obsession by his long lived discipline and human heart of remorse of draining a living creature of its life essence. The fact he needed food and not blood also helped. He couldn't die by sunlight but with his pale skin, he suffered a case of heat syndrome, where too much heat could cause him to go into shock.

His name was D. The full name of the dunpeal was lost to the ages but he didn't care. Very few emotions could escape his heart. As a hunter of his vampiric race, D only felt death and destruction to those creatures. He held himself high as a protector, for a price if possible, to the kind humans but he never felt as their superior. Everyone alive deserved a life, he believed. Vampires, being undead, had no purpose in that category.

Long ago, the vampire race ruled the night but after many centuries, their numbers has dwindled down to nothing. D has played no minor role in contributing to their extinction, with his long sword which he kept safely tucked on his back. Now, with the vampires going into hiding, D hasn't had a mission in two and a half centuries, and felt he was compelled to take down a vampire in a place he swore he would never return to. He was heading to Romania, his homeland.

"Soon we'll be home. Home at long last," came a voice to D's left side. As usual, the dunpeal ignored it.

Holding the reins tightly in his left hand, halting the horse, the vampire hunter glanced to his left, not moving his head. He felt a presence. Rarely did he feel a force but when he did he felt it both within him and all around him.

Grasping his sword handle in his right hand he waited patiently. If, whatever was coming towards him from the cornfield was a threat, he would defend himself and kill the beast. If the power didn't threaten him and it was a vampire, it would be moot; he would kill it as quickly as he could blink.

The force came closer and closer to D. Fear was lost to the dunpeal. If this was a threat, or a vampire, he most likely would die; he could sense it. Whenever D felt that he wouldn't survive, fear was never in his heart, just reality. Things live, things die. It was nature and he was part of that circle.

A form came out of the field. He seem like a vampire at first glance. As he walked, he left a trail of red afterimages behind him. He was dressed in ancient garbs, very royal with stitched black silk with golden trimmings. His white hair was extremely long that almost touched his backside. His cape was similar to D's but the inner lining seemed to glow a bright red. His skin was as fair as D's and he left his sword tied to his belt. On the handle, D noticed a family crest but couldn't recall where or when he seen it.

The figure stopped in the middle of the trail, turning his head to stare at the vampire hunter. The man seemed very vampiric but three features held his hand. The first was his eyes. Even in the soft moonlight, the dunpeal could see that his eyes were a soft crystal blue, not unlike the usual red the vampires had. The second was his ears. They were rounded when they should have been pointed. And finally, the most recognizable trait, he was breathing. This could only mean one thing. This traveler was another dunpeal.

The white haired dunpeal also knew the man on horseback was a half-vampire but was faster in realizing it. Looking down the trail, the white haired dunpeal immediately knew where D was going.

"My name is Alucard. What business do you have here?" asked Alucard, turning back to the vampire hunter.

Alucard wasn't a sociable character but he needed to know why this vampire hunter and a dunpeal to boot, was heading for Transylvania. D wasn't too fond of words himself, so he didn't reply, other than releasing the handle of his sword. Pushing aside any thoughts in his mind, Alucard shrugged and headed towards the cornfields on the right side of the trail. D tugged the reins and his horse began to trot forward.

"D," the vampire hunter said, passing Alucard by.

The white haired, half-vampire gazed over his shoulder. One letter, so simple, yet the name sounded so familiar. Thinking no more of it, Alucard continued his travels into the brush. Neither D nor Alucard was aware their chance meeting was a fate intervention.

* * *

The braziers erupted into two huge columns of hell fire. The flame's light was too much for the dark priest Axle, so he kept his hood up. Pure evil, that which of the deepest pits of Hell could be felt all around the antechamber. Axle basked in that negative energy, absorbing the power that the fiends of the fiery pits gave him.

A feminine silhouette appeared between the braziers. The specter opened its corporal eyes, glaring into the very core of the priest. Axle didn't return the gaze, preferring to keep his eyes shielded by his hood. He knew the summoning worked and now he can claim the final piece of the puzzle.

"Mother… sister… lover. I have one question that needs answered. I've searched the far reaches of former Europe but the final piece I'm looking for cannot be found. I beg of you, sister, please give me the information needed to complete the task," pleaded Axle, opening his arms out wide.

"My son, you know I don't like being called sister. Now ask your question," replied the specter in a deep, demonic voice.

"Where can I find the relic of sight of all things?"

The specter smiled widely, anticipating the question. Her son/brother has been searching for the relics to succeed where everyone in her bloodline has failed. Leaning over, the evil creature came close to Axle's ear, even licking through his lobe, since the specter couldn't physically touch anything on the prime material plane. Still, the dark energy sent shivers up the spine of her son.

"Transylvania my love. Few know of the existence of the relic, so you may have to sack the town," whispered the evil creature, tonguing the priest's ear again.

"Demoualqueto," Axle spoke softly. The specter snapped up straight, screaming in anguish.

Continuing the chant of torture, Axle grinned at the pain on his mother's face. The corporal creature glared at him in shock, refusing to scream further. But the spell's rhythm and tempo started to speed up. Realizing what the dark priest intended on doing, she leapt at his throat, only to past right through him.

"Gononanano…" repeated Axle, just barely glancing over his shoulder.

"Please… son. Don't… destroy my… soul!" begged the specter..

The priest continued as if he never even heard the plead. The chant began reaching its climax, the corporal creature started to spasm out of control, ready to blow. The chant finally ended, causing the creature to burst into millions of atoms, which were scattered throughout the infinite planes of existence.

Satisfied with his mother/sister's utter destruction, the dark priest turned on his heels, waving a hand and extinguishing the braziers. The creature was family but that mattered not to the priest. He was the last of his bloodline and he was a noble. Keeping the line pure of outsiders, his family practiced incest but as educate that he was, he couldn't believe how intelligent he was with how close his family were. He should've been physically and mentally handicapped but as an act by Lucifer, he was not. Still, he never really got over his mother's advances, begging him to produce another offspring.

Shaking the images of his past away, he came to a justifiable reason why she had to be eradicated. He couldn't have anyone knowing what he was doing. Another priest, one of the holy faith, could have summoned her and she would've told them his plans, if the specter wanted to or not. Only he and Dustaya could know about the mission and Dustaya could quickly outlive her usefulness if she wasn't careful.

Leaving the antechamber with haste, Axle began pondering his plan, which he usually did several times a day. The plan had to be flawless. Sacking Transylvania sounded tempting but to take advice from his ancestors was asking for past failures to repeat themselves.

Focusing within his being, the dark priest closed his eyes and began contemplating the best way to approach this new problem. The fact that he could put his plan in motion once he had the relic just added to his anticipation. An anticipated mind makes many mistakes.

"Dustaya," the dark priest quietly whispered as he continued his pace down the hall. She knew the outside world better than he and she had dealings with the Belmonts in Transylvania before. If anybody could find the last relic, cause enough chaos to confuse the people of the town of what was going on, and not leave any clues behind, Dustaya would be the one to do it.

Outside, the succubus whipped her head up, feeling that someone just called her name. The demon spreaded her wings and took to the sky as fast as her wings would carry her. Noticing an open window in the cathedral, she dove quickly for it. Perching on the window sill, she looked down the hall. The priest was walking right towards her.

"My lord, you called?" asked the demon, bowing her head respectfully.

"Yes. The final piece is in Transylvania," the priest paused as a large grin appeared on his face, "the Belmonts most likely hid it. Get me the relic at any cost".

Dustaya immediate responds was one of shock. She couldn't believe that the dark priest was giving her free reign. He was always a calculative man, to ask her to go and cause chaos was unheard of. The grin was slowly fading from his face, showing his displeasure that she was wasting time. Leaping off the window, the succubus took to the skies, smiling brightly. Tonight, many mortals will know unbelievable torment, and to many, some delicious pleasure.

* * *

"D, over there. Look man," asked a voice from D's left side.

Ignoring it, the vampire hunter continued his trek through the woods. D's left hand came up to slap him but the dunpeal intercepted it with his right. Turning his left hand around, the parasite reshaped his hand into two empty eye sockets, nostrils, and almost toothless mouth on his palm. The hand would not be pushed aside that easily.

"The horse needs its rest. Look," the parasite paused, turning around and gazing off the side, to a cliff, "it's not going to kill you".

The parasite had a point, about the horse anyways. Getting off the horse and guiding it by the reins, D led the horse to a lake. The parasite continued to pester the vampire hunter to take a peak up north. Of course, he knew what the hand wanted him to see… the cliffs where Castlevania once stood. Gripping his left hand into a fist, shutting up the annoying hand, D gazed up into the morning sun and had a feeling that returning home was a huge mistake. Then again, he never wanted to truly return.

* * *

Kicking through the rubble, Alucard wondered why he awoken from his eternal rest. Eons ago, the son of Vladamir Trepes swore to never harm any humans with his tainted blood. He was a half-vampire, making him non-human. His mother never wanted Alucard or Vladamir to harm any humans, for their life was a hard one without them. He couldn't live amongst them, so he left them alone, sending himself into a deep coma.

Unless Castlevania was to be reborn, he should still be sleeping. Something was wrong in the dunpeal's homeland but he couldn't put his finger on it. A secondary force must have intervened. But what could have been powerful enough to awaken the ancient dark prince?

Castlevania wasn't showing her evil structure and it didn't feel like it would for many decades. All was peaceful throughout the land and what a beautiful land it was. The woodlands around the large lake were singing with life and the trees were in full bloom with their huge canopies covering the land in a mesh of green. The sky was clear, showing a dome of a sea of blue. Without the castle, the land was awe-inspiring.

"What's that?" Alucard whispered, turning around. The prince felt an evil presence but only for a brief moment. Nothing was there. He never knew the succubus that he banished so long ago, flew overhead in that very moment, heading to cause disorder in the town of his birth.

Shaking his head, the dark prince walked up to the edge of the cliff and looked onwards. Something moved in the woodland, drawing Alucard out of his reverie. Squinting, the dunpeal managed to make out two shapes; a horse and a tall man. It didn't take the prince long to know who was down there but for some reason unknown, he started wondering why this dunpeal, vampire hunter was doing in his homeland again. Obviously there was a vampire in Romania but not his father. Of course, if his father was resurrected, he would be first to eliminate him.

Turning around, Alucard walked away from it all. Away from the cliff, away from the vampire hunter, and as always, away from his past. If something was amiss in Romania, he knew where to go for information. Close by, in the city of Transylvania, was a clan of vampire hunters whom he has named him friend, the Belmonts. A dark cloud washed over the dunpeal as he spun around to the dark haired vampire hunter. If D was heading for Transylvania, that meant only one thing. Speeding off onto the west, the prince began his journey where he knew only disaster lied.

* * *

Perched on a narrow rooftop, a dark yet beautiful demon stared at the town's clock. The succubus knew the last item rested somewhere in this city. As if by instinct she watched the clock strike noon, expecting that the clever humans wouldn't hide the item without leaving a clue to its whereabouts. Her eyes rose to a small hill and a mansion upon that same hill as the clock struck noon, pointing in the direction towards here goal.

With a bound the demon took flight while morphing her physical body along the way. The moment she landed before the great doors to the mansion, her wings vanished, completing her change. After a deep breath, she screamed to the top of her lungs while pounding upon the doors, hoping the master of the house would answer quickly. As if on cue, a young man answered the distressful knock, wondering what could be so urgent as to repeatedly wrap upon his door.

With another scream, the demon lept into his arms, sobbing in his shoulder to keep him from orienting himself and to keep her smile that she couldn't contain from him. Her sobbing became cries while her smile widen as the youth began embracing her tightly and his fingers began brushing lightly through her hair. Softly, yet briskly, the young man invited her into his warm home. The door shut soundly behind them, being the last moments of peace in Transylvania.


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

**Pain and Pleasure**

Honey blonde hair flew up into the air and gently back down in the rhythmic dance of the intertwined lovers. No, not lovers. To the nobleman, he felt he was comforting the lost soul of the woman through her own means. Easily deceiving the simple male, the transformed succubus was enjoying herself in the unholy art of lust. Both were lost in the moment.

The bed began to rock and the chains of the handcuffed noble _clinked_. The succubus began exploring the chest of the young man, feeling his smooth flesh beneath her gentle fingers. A moan escaped his lips as the rhythm quickened. A wicked smile crawled to the demon's lips.

In a smooth motion, Dustaya softly rubbed her ample globes and careen back onto him, giving the noble a clear view of her body. His masculine body arched higher, the warmth of her body causing him to spasm. The heat intensified, the pulsations hasten, moans turned to screams… then it slowed.

The temptress delayed the pace, keeping the noble excited, but denying him his release. A puzzled expression came to him, trying to push himself to his limits but the small woman was stronger than she appeared. Pinning the young man with her legs, she crawled, cheek to cheek to her lover.

"Darlin', I need to know what happened to my family," she whispered into his ear huskily.

"We have an item that could help you," he replied instantly.

"Can we?"

"After we…" he trailed off, as he watched helplessly as the illusion spell expire. Honey blonde was replaced with fiery red. Wings grew from her spine. Her grin never left her face.

"Yes, we'll finish," she cooed, straddling him again.

Horror filled the noble's eyes. He opened his mouth to scream but only grunts came forth as the demon worked her centuries of skills on him. Flailing helplessly in his bonds, he prayed for the Lord to give him strength. None came. He could not begin to break free from the steel cuffs or the stern oak wood of the bed frame.

Sighing in ecstasy and arching her back, the demon thrust her body down onto him. His fear became her high. Their bodies, wrapped around one another, became a dance of pain and sheer pleasure. His dread and her delight.

"Stop demon," the noble manage to scream before he reached his release.

Dustaya bounced harder and faster, shivering with her own pinnacle of desire, soaking in the noble's seed. The demon heaved heavily, gently rocking on the young man. _A succubus. I got to get free, _the man thought, testing the strength of the cuffs again. After a quick tug, he knew it was no use.

Recovered, the demon slithered up to the young man's mouth, almost in a loving manner. Whispers of a foreign tongue, most likely a spell, were spoken softly. Physically drained after their encounter, the noble just stared on in terror as she opened her mouth and watched his own spirit being sucked out of his own mouth. No pain was felt but in a few heartbeats, his soul was lost, completely devoured by the succubus.

* * *

The oak door creaked open. The beautiful Romanian woman stepped forth, pausing immediately at the sight before her. Her home was ripped asunder, as if a beast ravished through the house. The house was sacked but her only concern was where her son could be. Kicking over some debris, she made her way to the side stairs. At the bottom floor, she ducked, as a dresser flew over her head. Gazing up, she saw her son slowly walking down the stairs towards her.

Nearly jumping out of her boots, an arm wrapped around her and the tenderness of another's flesh rubbed against her cheek. The undead creature finished its descent, stopping before its former mother. Confusion and fear paralyzed the poor mistress. Nails, almost as sharp as claws, began to rip into her side.

"Lovely one, where is the relic that you guard? Please tell me where, or," Dustaya paused, forcing the woman's head towards her son, "should I let this find young man under my control, have some fun with your feminine flesh?"

The woman shook at the disgust of it all. Her son was obviously bewitched or turned undead and either this necromancer wanted her son to feast on her or to violate her in the most dreaded why possible. Neither sounded pleasant. Tears weld up inside. Her son was doomed and this creature holding her controls him to every bit of her wimps. The demon controlled him, had him sack the house, prepared him to rape his mother; all for some relic.

"Please… don't. I'll let you have it if you promise to let Rull's spirit rest," the mistress begged, crying uncontrollably.

"Of course," Dustaya replied.

_So the young man had a name, oh well. Regardless, his soul has been obliterated,_ thought the demon, grinning widely. Without seeing a reason to tell her that small detail, the succubus continued to hold the woman and started guiding her to each room. The mistress pushed onward, towards the kitchen. A moan in the floor was all that the demon needed to know. Pushing the woman to the side, the succubus tore out the panel, revealing an oak box.

"Thank you," Dustaya purred.

With a wink, the demon lit the woman ablaze and having her run out of the kitchen screaming in agony. That sound was music to the demon's ears. The house quickly began to be engulfed in flames. Throwing all of her weight at the door, the demon shattered the portal.

"Ah, now for a little distraction," the succubus said out loud.

Looking around, her eyes fell on two homeless men, asleep after a couple of tonics. Ginning brightly, the succubus mouthed a few words and pointed to the duo. Nothing appeared to happen. Still grinning, the demon took flight, holding the box close to her chest. One of the bums coughed.

* * *

"What are these eyes I see? Filled with shades of gray that knows not the kind light of man nor understands the darkness that evil possess. To where does a creature that I gaze upon have a place in this world?" Alucard asked his reflection within the river.

Night has fallen. After a long day's travel, the prince found some prints on the road leading to Transylvania. Obviously, the vampire hunter has taken a lead on him but that didn't matter much. A feeling of dread came to the dunpeal. He needed rest but his worried heart wouldn't permit a moment peace.

"Help," came a plea from within the forest.

Even the cry wasn't enough of a warning, as a young woman crashed into the dunpeal's chest. In a blur, Alucard spun the surprised woman around, held her close and covered her mouth with a gloved hand. The scream was muffled but it was still made it more difficult for the prince to hear the crushing of leaves from ahead of him, nearing their position.

"Get up this tree and don't make a sound," command the dunpeal, gently but forcefully, heaving the woman up and into the tree. The dark prince started towards the upcoming sounds.

Five dark skinned Romanians walked into view, shocked to see the fair skin traveler. A tall, burly man stepped forward, looking left and right, as if he lost something or trying to find any sign of an ambush. Perhaps both. The dark prince knew not how long he's been asleep, but it seemed that time hasn't eased the paranoia of the Transylvanians. Satisfied that the light skin traveler was alone, the burly man huffed out his chest, a simple sign of superiority.

"Wanderer, have you seen a woman run by here?" he asked, more of a demand.

"I did. Why do you seek her?" replied the dunpeal.

"It's not the concerns of a foreigner."

"You're right. It is none of my affair, but each of you is outside of the Transylvanian limits, so chasing down a woman outside your homeland is no longer your problem."

Bewildered, all the men gathered in a huddle to figure out what they should do next. The burly man turned his head around, casting a threatening gaze at the traveler. Instinctively, Alucard dropped his hand to his sword hilt but stopped short. _If you cannot live with them then at least do no harm against them,_ _for theirs is already a hard lot, _the prince remembrance of his mother's last words, holding his hand.

"Listen wanderer, she is plagued. We must stop her before it can spread to the next town over," one of the other men spoke, disrupting Alucard out of his reverie.

Cursing even getting involved with any dispute between the locals, the dunpeal quickly calmed and focused on a solution to the problem before him. He didn't want to give the woman over to five big men, but if this "plague" is sever, than by Transylvania law, anyone carry a disease must be quarantined or killed. A faint smell tingled in the air, which brought the prince to a justifiable conclusion.

"What are the symptoms of this plague?" he asked matter-of-factly.

"Paralysis, difficulty breathing, and death," the burly man was quick to reply.

The dunpeal raised and eyebrow. The disease that was in their midst was a greater form of disease he remembered. Obviously the virus must have mutate and badly, to have people in the final stages—then again—the dunpeal didn't even know how long the plague been in Transylvania. Upon further inspection of the men before him, their knowledge is limited so the plague must have just hit their homeland.

"The disease you speak of is poliomyelitis, though, in the later stages. The woman… doesn't even have the earliest stages. She doesn't have it," Alucard slowly stated, making sure the group didn't miss a single word he said.

"Where did she go!" bellowed the burly man, pointing a finger at Alucard.

"You're not listening. The earlier stages would be headaches, nausea, vomiting, general discomfort or even a slight fever. She wouldn't be well enough to outrun four perfectly healthy men," the dunpeal paused, steadily shifting his head to the far right, where one of the men in the group, was sweating profusely, "but one of you does have the disease. I suggest that you four leave him, the woman, and Transylvania entirely. The disease can be very contagious."

After seeing their friend vomit, the group ran off as far as their legs could carry them. Shortly after their flight, the woman jumped out of her tree and fled in an opposite direction. Alucard felt for the lone man, still heaving up his inners but knew he could do no more then put him out of his misery. If he was lucky, he wouldn't die but living a life without the use of his legs would be a much more difficult life.

Once the man was finished, he fell and began to sob. His blood was tainted with a very familiar disease but still very foreign to the prince. Something awoken him and it was clear the dangers to his homeland was very real. Throwing an arm around the Romanian shoulder, the dunpeal continued his trek to his destination. Transylvania, which now seemed to have been overrun with polio.


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

**Dark Alliance**

It was much too quiet for the city of Transylvania as the vampire hunter trotted in during that following evening. The sound of the night life was dead; no hooting of owls, no chirping of crickets, no howling of wolves, not even the squeaks of bats could be heard. Silence was everywhere and not a single creature appeared anywhere down the avenue that he traveled into. But the sense was there, a sense of danger and hatred filled the air. Pulling the reins, D glanced around his surroundings.

Halting in the middle of the avenue, on either side of the rider and horse, were strong, bricked, two floored houses. It was a cool night, so it didn't bother the dunpeal that all the doors and windows were shut but not a single light was illuminated at any of the windows and every shade in those widows were drawn. Even though the avenue seemed deserted, D knew he was surrounded.

Slowly rising, the innocent move caused an explosive reaction. Several windows burst open and many figures rolled into the front and rear cross sections of the avenue. With toned, vampiric strength, the dunpeal sprung off the horse long before the first window opened. The bound took him to the nearest building roof, protecting him from the onslaught. His cybernetic horse wasn't so lucky.

From every angle down the avenue, shots ran out, bombarding the beast with a hundred and more bullets. Waves of shots continued to pierce the horse's flesh. The beast tried to cry out but several bullets torn into its throat, causing it to gag on its own blood. Once the assailants noticed the rider wasn't on the horse, the shots ceased, leaving nothing remaining of the beautiful beast.

"What the hell is going on? Hold you fucking fire!" screamed a lone figure that D wasn't willing to risk a glance over his hidden area to see who it was.

The speaker walked into the middle of the street, shaking his head at the poor beast on the ground. A month ago, he sent word out to the best vampire hunter that he wanted to hire for five million dalas and now it seemed—if the hunter would still be interested in being hired—that it would cost him more to replace the rare stallion that his people carelessly destroyed. The legendary vampire hunter regrettably answered his call, even though their may not be a vampire to hunt.

"Vampire Hunter D," the man called, "I apologize for what my people have done. We have been plagued by a demon and now their trust is little when it comes to newcomers, especially ones that look like vampires."

"That's understandable," a gentle reply came from the side.

Standing off in the shadows, between two buildings, the hunter stared at the spokesman and obviously the mayor of the city. Returning the stare, the middle aged man squinted his eyes to see if it was the hunter that addressed him. There was no moon out this evening and so only half of D's face could be seen from the nose down to his chin. Petting though his thick mustache, the mayor didn't exactly know how to continue the conversation. Instead, he waited for the vampire hunter to be the first to speak. D didn't move, didn't make a sound.

"Another vampire!" screamed a villager. All crosshairs focused on the two incoming individuals.

"For the love of God, hold your fucking fire!" the mayor crudely commanded. "Look, he's carrying a villager, the blacksmith Cole, I believe."

D swiftly glided out of the shadows and stood beside the mayor to get a better look at the vampire. Even from a distance, D could feel the light haired man's power and knew immediately that it must be the dunpeal from the fields. He was impressed by the speed Alucard used to get to the city, only minutes behind him. The mayor, too, recognized the dunpeal but not from a personal meeting.

"Dante, Dorian, please take Cole home," the mayor instructed. Reluctantly they agreed.

Gently handing the man over to the Transylvanians, Alucard walked briskly over the remaining distance to the man in charged. Within ten feet, the scent of familiar blood entered his nostrils. If it wasn't for the eternity of sadness in his life, he would've smiled. A memory, more like a recollection of a movie, came to Alucard, one of a beautiful woman with milky skin and honey blonde hair. The memory faded as quickly as it came.

"I don't believe it, Alucard?" the mayor asked, not quite sure if he should extend a hand to the man that approached him.

"I am and you must be of the Renard clan," the dunpeal stated.

"We should talk elsewhere," D declared as he looked from window to window.

"Yes. Please, D, Alucard this way."

It wasn't what the hunter expected. In the letter addressed to him, the mayor needed D to get to Tranylvania with haste and meet him in the mayor's manor. Something must have happened recently, no surprise, but what reason they assembled inside the barracks eluded him. What bothered D even more; it seems a powerful force, likely fate, guided two powerful dunpeals together to stop a great enemy. He didn't like how this was unfolding. Alucard was the first to speak.

"Where are the Belmonts?"

"Right to the point. That's fine. I'm afraid the Belmont clan died out five thousand years ago, where they entrusted the hunt for vampires to the Hellsing family and the security of Vladamir's relics were past down to my family. A hundred years ago, someone had the Hellsings eradicated. The only thing that is stopping Dracula's next resurrection was my family," he paused to glance from Alucard to D and back again. "Sadly, I got word a month ago that someone stole the Tooth of Vlad from a fellow guardian of the ancient relic. He informed me that two other items, the Ring and Rib of Vlad were taken as well."

Neither dunpeal flinched. Alucard knew his awakening had to do with his father and D was well aware that his mission may require a battle with Vladimir Trepes. Only one thing bothered them. Why did this man seem so hurt for something he had no control over? A revelation came to D then.

"What relic were you guarding?" the vampire hunter asked softly. A wince from the mayor told him that he hit the mark.

"I… failed as well. A witness saw a beautiful demon woman flying away from my house with a box in tow. She lit my house ablaze with my wife and son still inside," the mayor stopped again, choking back his sorrow and rage. "I apologize, Vampire Hunter D. I feel the demon left an evil plague behind, which has already began to cripple and kill my citizens. I will pay you whatever you want… but you must stop the resurrection of Vladimir Trepes!"

The hunter remained silent for many moments after the mayor's plead. He had no interest in combating Dracula but as it stands, the demon had only four of the five relics. Even if she collects them all, it would take time for the resurrection to become complete. Defeating a simple demon would be worth his troubles.

Alucard knew not what was running through the vampire hunter's mind. Too apathetic was D's face. Was he afraid? Was he playing a waiting game to up his prize? D's beautiful, emotionless features only added to Alucard's curiousity. _What drives this one?_ Alucard thought.

"I'll take up the hunt for the relics. Another million should—"

"Done!"

"—and another cybernetic horse."

"I'm afraid we don't have any here."

"Then the price goes up another million."

"That's it," Alucard snapped. "I'll get whoever took the relics without payment."

"Alucard," a soft voice beckoned.

The dark prince felt a tug from his name. Turning to the hunter, whom seemed to have closed the distance by inches, they began to gaze in the other's eyes. Both saw a kindred spirit within the other. Alucard still wouldn't budge and D felt drawn to his fellow dunpeal. Fate wouldn't let them part and the vampire hunter needed to see how their roles would play out.

"I will take my original payment if he joins me," D spoke gently, dipping his head down so the brim of his hat blocked Alucard's view of his eyes.

The mayor glanced back and forth from the one legendary dunpeal to the other. Both seemed determined to take on this mission for the sake of humanity but they may get into the other's way. Then again, they may be able to defeat this hidden foe more easily as a team. Shaking his head, he didn't know what to do.

"It's Alucard's choice," the mayor stated.

_Indeed_, thought Alucard. Deep inside his heart, the dark prince knew the vampire hunter was up to something but he couldn't deny the fact that they could find this demon and return the relics quickly if they were together. The sooner he could return to sleep the better. Whatever the vampire hunter plans were, he'll take care of it once the time came.

"Agreed," the prince said with a nod.

The mayor watched the duo leave without a handshake or word to him. A grin spread across his face. The murderers of his family would pay dearly with the team that was after them. Rushing out to get a glimpse of the dunpeals, he wasn't surprised or disappointed when neither could be found. The dark alliance that was formed this night gave the mayor the peace of mind he direly needed.


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**The Hunt Begins**

It wasn't long for Alucard to figure out who was to blame for the evil that haunted the city of Transylvania. Her smell, the diabolic stench of sex and death still lingered about the ashes of the manor. The succubus he banished long ago by destroying her in his dream was back and on the prime material plane of all places. She was back and she, or someone more powerful than she, had knowledge of the hidden relics of Vlad. Soon they would awaken his father. He would not let that happen.

Far behind the dark prince, D placed his left hand close to a set of unusual prints. The footprints were closer to toe prints, as if the person or creature was on their tiptoes, with long claw marks embedded into the stone. Keeping an eye on his fellow dunpeal, D wasn't prepared to ever tell anyone about the second living being that existed on him. Whoever stole the item was planning to resurrect his father. He wouldn't let that become a reality.

"The prints are about eight hours old. The mayor's witness was right, this thing leapt into the air, probably flew away. It could be anywhere by now," the left hand whispered to D.

"It was a succubus that was here," the dark prince began when he barely moved to gaze at the vampire hunter. "Who were you talking to?"

The question was an honest one but one D wasn't going to answer. The hunter should've known that the dunpeal, whose senses were beyond human and who could hear a heartbeat from several pace away, would be able to hear his hand. Gracefully rising to his feet, D just stared at the dunpeal, awaiting any real useful information.

Alucard thoughts took him skywards. He wasn't really expecting the vampire hunter to answer him. It wasn't the prince's concern anyways but it was D's idea of working together. If the hunter truly desired this alliance than the prince thought they should be straightforward, maybe even take a moment to understand the other's strengths and weaknesses to better compliment the other. Like whenever he teamed up with the Belmonts. But the prince remained silent, respecting the hunter's privacy.

The scent and aura was fading and with the demon taking flight, there was only one way to follow the trail. As the prince turned to the hunter, the prince tipped his chin at D, a silent code to step back. The hunter did as he was instructed.

Alucard hated the idea of what he had to do but if there was any chance of tracking the demon, he had to fly. Though he mastered the art of polymorphing, the pain was something he loathed with a vengeance. It began with his arms, cracking and snapping as they contracted to his shoulders and at that moment, his fingers extended and webbed into two black, leathery wings. The prince's legs followed soon after, breaking at the joint and reforming into a pair of large, hairy rodent limbs. The face was the worse of the transformation. Instantly the prince's nose snapped up, as if someone punched and shattered his nose bone into a flat snout. As if hooks were rooted into the tips of his pointed ears, the prince's ears were pulled and torn, reshaping into two large bat ears. As the prince's body reformed, his clothing burrowed into his flesh, becoming one with his body.

It took only a heartbeat but to Alucard, it felt like an eternity of agony. Alucard took a deep breath as he flapped his huge wings in midair. As he flapped there, the prince was unsurprised that his fellow dunpeal seemed uninterested by his polymorph. However, the prince couldn't read the dunpeal for he was going to fly from this place and he wouldn't wait for D. With a screeching cry, Alucard took to the skies, following the stench of the succubus.

"Shape changing. I haven't seen a vampire do that in centuries, let alone a dunpeal. He must be powerful," the left hand stated. D couldn't argue that point; he already knew the dark prince was powerful but to change shape with such speed shown the hunter that Alucard's power may be beyond him.

Nevertheless, D couldn't worry about the other dunpeal. He never heard about a dunpeal by the name Alucard—even though the name sounded very familiar—and that told D that the prince has been in hiding, keeping himself far away from humanity. The hunter respected such an action. A man, who would seclude himself for such a long time, thousands of years perhaps, was indeed an ally. And with such skill, Alucard would be a powerful ally. Keeping his eyes on the large bat, D leapt to the closest roof.

* * *

It was as close to ecstasy that the dark priest has ever felt in his life. The five relics were finally together and if there was a united front with the guardians of the relics, they would still think that he held four not five of the artifacts. Power, absolute power, flooded Axle as he just stood in the room full of the ancient artifacts. Raw, dangerous, chaotic power from the king of darkness poured into the dark priest.

"My lord," a voice rasped from behind the dark priest.

Axel lowered his arms but he didn't address the one who entered without permission. _Foolish gargoyles_, the dark priest thought. Though they were loyal enough, their stupidity must balance out that loyalty. Still. Axle would not turn, embarrassed as he was, as if the gargoyle entered when he was with a lover. Perhaps he was.

"What is so urgent that you would risk your life by interrupting me at such a time?" the dark priest said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Some shuffling could be heard from behind the priest, his threat hitting its mark. Axle waited patiently for the creature to explain.

"My apologies, my lord but there is a huge bat heading this way," the gargoyle grated.

"A bat?" the priest mimicked, baffled by the report. After searching for twenty years, Axel felt that the vampire race was all but extinct. The only logical conclusion the dark priest could think of was this vampire wanted the artifacts he had to become more powerful.

Before he could deal with this upcoming problem, Axel had something that needed taken care of. Slowly twirling around, the dark priest began a chant. A chant the gargoyle knew all too well. The creature tried to scramble away, even managed to get airborne before the spell finished, turning the creature of stone into a large puddle of mud. With a smirk, the dark priest moved around the pile of goo, heading towards his private mirror. Full length the mirror was, with silver skeletal torsos etched in the four corners of the mirror.

Axel focused into the mirror, through his own reflection, calling out to the land beyond. Gradually his reflection faded, replaced with a gray mist. Scrying was a difficult process without a personal item of the one he was looking for but the dark priest had many ways around such spells. Instead of focusing on the 'bat,' Axel thought about a tree he visited every other day, many miles away. With ease did that tree appear in the mirror. Scrying back, the priest saw a shadowy disturbance of that of a flying creature.

"Demodyma telquata," the dark priest chanted, centering his attention on a large space in front of the creature.

"Hemamole dyachek zechoitic," Axel finished, tenderly sliding his hand against the smooth glass.

* * *

The night air was nice and cool, perfect weather for a bat in flight. Following the scent, Alucard was surprised that he was heading away from Castlevania Heights. It never occurred to the dark prince that the resurrection of Dracula could take place somewhere other than the castle. The scent was fading with the breeze, so he picked up his pace.

All of a sudden, a shooting pain of what sounded like a loud buzzing flooded into the prince's ears, followed shortly by vertigo and discoloration in his sight. Someone was interfering with his sensitive echo location. The prince began to seize in his flight as he tried to focus on getting to the ground safely. Being several feet above hundreds of trees that aligned the forest terrified the prince. Every tree held many branches and limbs; any one of those branches posed at the right angle could end the prince's existence.

Alucard, dedicated as he was, was able to guide himself close to a grove before his eyes rolled back into his head. Losing consciousness had the dark prince reverting back into his human form. Blood flown out of his ears and his mouth was covered in foam. The only mercy Alucard believed he had before his blackout was he wouldn't have his chest punctured by any tree. He would survive and being unconscious meant he wouldn't feel the impact.

Gentle yet firm hands grasped the fallen prince. D'a jump from the nearest tree had him up and at the prince in a heartbeat but his descent was more similar to someone floating. It wasn't hard for the hunter to keep up with Alucard and it didn't take him long to know what happened to the prince turned bat. Some magician placed up an echo screen in Alucard's flight path.

"You're always saving dunpeals in distress," the left hand snickered.


	6. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**Reminiscing**

Everything around him seemed a sort of gray. He didn't know how he got here or why he felt he needed to go a certain way but he followed his instincts. It felt like eternity and a second had past before he arrived to the castle, where he was surprised to see a younger version of himself, holding his mother for the last time.

"Mother… don't go," the boy sobbed in his mother embrace.

"Your father is in battle and is trying to defend his country in the name of his family and God. The people, his people, fear him for they know not what they do not understand. Adrian," the woman gently pulled the boy to arms length while cupping his tiny chin in her hand. "I must try to convince them to understand for we humans will always fear the unknown and we seek to destroy that we do not understand. If I should fail, please remember, do not hate humans. If you can't live amongst them than do them no harm, for theirs is a hard lot."

"No, mother," Alucard cried, rushing over to stop her, only to move right through her as if she was mist.

The woman rose to her feet, smiling sweetly to her son. She knew and he knew that she wasn't coming back. Adrian smiled anyways. Always did he smile when he saw his mother smiling at him. As she turned to leave, she called out to the only one who didn't fear Vlad the Impaler, her son, the son of Dracula. She knew her message would reach her love's ears.

"Tell your father that I shall love him for all eternity."

That following night, Lisa Trepes arrived at Castlevania in a body cart; sure signs of crucifixion being the cause of her death. For a week the boy, Adrian, cried for the lost of his mother and in a week's time, Vladamir returned in victory, only to find that his wife has been killed by his subjects. Instead of listening to anything young Adrian had to say, the King of Darkness began his reign of torture and pain against his citizens, making them all pay dearly for what they've done. Alucard watched it all, praying he would wake up from this nightmare.

"Mother," Alucard murmured as he continued to toss on the ground.

It was strange for D, seeing such a strong soul being haunted by a dream. D was envious of his fellow dunpeal. The memory of his mother has almost been completely dissipated from his mind. But it was his work, destroying the vampires, where he felt he was honoring his mother and her memory. She was a great vampire hunter, that D could recall, and one dark day she came across a vampire that was beyond her, Count Dracula. Instead of killing the woman who wanted to slay him, he condemned her to a greater fate of giving him a child.

The reminiscence of his youth was far too long ago but he did remember the daily abuse of the physical nature he endured and the sexual nature his mother underwent until he was twelve, or perhaps when he was fifteen. That was the time his mother managed to sneak D out of the castle and told him how to get some place safe that of her mentor, Extol. He learned from the best, under Extol guidance, to hunt and kill vampires. Through his blade, D swore he would avenge his mother by laying waste to all vampirekind but her final words ever kept him from going after his own father.

"_Do not come back for me, for my fate has been sealed long ago. My pride cost me and I don't want you to make my mistakes. Grow strong but remember, your father will always be the stronger," _she said that day, holding him close to her heart.

"_Also remember that I will always love you D—"_

"D, we should just leave him. The longer we stay the longer the demon has to collect the last relic," the left hand said, ripping the vampire hunter out of his reverie.

A flash of anger came over the dunpeal but he quickly composed himself. It wasn't the first time his hand interrupted him from his thoughts and most likely it wouldn't be the last. However, the parasite had a point. He couldn't watch Alucard and hunt the succubus at the same time. It wasn't a choice, just a fact. He was just going to turn to leave before he saw the dark prince stir.

Shaking away the buzzing in his head, the prince rose as quickly as he could. It wasn't surprising for Alucard to see D standing guard over him. With a nod, Alucard began moving north, trying to distance himself from his nightmare and moving towards the reality of the now. Before he was knocked out of the sky, Alucard saw a huge chapel in the direction of the scented trail. If the prince knew from his past experiences, he would have to believe some foolish dark priest was the one planning on resurrecting his father. The first place to start looking for an evil priest would have to be a dark and assumingly deserted church.

* * *

"Who are they? Both are dunpeals to be sure but why would they come here?" the dark priest, Axel asked his loyal demon servant as they gazed into the scrying mirror.

Breaking the forest, two men ran out and moved with both strength and grace. The first dunpeal, Dustaya had no idea who he was but she couldn't help but fantasize about the tall, dark and beautiful man. His black hair flew beautifully, bouncing off his broad shoulders while his large top hat kept his bangs out of his face. How she pouted by the sight of that hat; keeping her from seeing into his eyes. Once she saw the other, her pout quickly became a scowl.

"The one with the white hair, he's Alucard," the succubus sneered.

"I see, the son of Dracula and the one that banished you those millenniums ago," the dark priest stated as his eyes fell onto the second dunpeal.

Axel's army of gargoyles, a hundred strong, swooped down at the two men with speed and great agility. Alucard charged the first gargoyle, vanishing in a heartbeat and appearing momentarily to slash the creature twice from behind before returning to the exact spot he disappeared. Those two swipes had the gargoyles wings severed. As the beast plummeted towards the dark prince, Alucard opened his cape, sending forth two large Hellfire globes. On impact, the beast exploded into thousands of pebbles.

Another gargoyle flew with great velocity towards the vampire hunter. To disrupt his flight, D lifted his left hand, which opened its wind tunneled mouth, drawing the creature faster to D. The gargoyle tried to fly away but the attempt was in vain. A long crescent blade took its head from its shoulders and in the same moment, D grabbed the head and whipped it high towards another gargoyle, destroying the creature's skull with the unusual projectile.

"Vampire Hunter D," Axel gasped at the performance of the vampire hunter. The name meant little to the priest but the hand told him something far more about D.

"D… interesting. He could be fun to play with," Dustaya smiled.

"FOOL!" the dark priest bellowed, punching the demon across the face. "He is also the son of Dracula! Even older than Alucard himself! If you 'play' with him, you'll be banished once more and this time, I will make sure you stay wayward!"

The strike laid the succubus low and the sharp words from Axel had her putting her hands in front of her face. It wasn't hard for Axel to know why these two were coming to his chapel. Neither cared for Dracula and both would kill anyone who would awaken the great vampire. Instead of continuing to take out his anger on the demon, he decided to use her to his best advantage. Grabbing her by her fiery red hair, he pulled her to her feet.

"We need them separated. I'll take care of D, you take care of Alucard," Axel spat, tossing the demon towards the door. She didn't stay any longer than a heartbeat, getting as far from the enraged priest as possible.

Axel turned to the relics and to his dark book of demonic magic. He wanted to badly get the ceremony ready but if D was the first son of Dracula, than he couldn't hope to prepare. So he would need to take care of the vampire hunter first but if D was not the one he was thinking about, than he would've sacrificed too much time and he could've finished the ceremony. The chance, the unexpected turn of events, the chaos around him had Axel almost giddy. He grabbed his book.


	7. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

**Divided We Do Fall**

The fearless beast dived in, expecting a surprise attack on the prince's flank. Its claws extended, wanting badly to tear into the tender, pale flesh of this demigod, the creature clenched its teeth so hard it felt them crack under the pressure. It couldn't afford its primal howl to give it away, how precious stealth was to it. Only a heartbeat away from its target, the gargoyle struck… nothing but air.

Moving its left wing sharply at an angle, the gargoyle thought itself clever by throwing itself into a spiral, making itself a difficult target. Appearing several paces away from the flying beast, the prince released a barrage of small fireballs. The attack wasn't meant to destroy the beast, only to wound a wing or maybe a limb. However, in its corkscrew, the fireballs struck its soft underbelly, causing it to explode instantly.

"That's the last one," Alucard stated, turning to the hunter.

It was an awkward silence later. Both dunpeals knew the other was powerful as the rubble of an army lied scattered around their feet proved and it only took them mere minutes to disassemble them. Alucard wanted to ask D about the powerful void in his hand but he knew the hunter was a private and quiet man. D wanted to know how Alucard could use such magic without draining the blood of innocence but neither did he want to pry. The hunter made a point to ball a fist to keep his hand from being verbal and ruining this silent moment. Lifting his head slightly, exposing his beautiful face, the hunter looked onto the cathedral. Alucard followed his fellow dunpeal's gaze.

Within a heartbeat, the prince began his sprint, leaving behind several afterimages of himself. Out of the short battle and bloodlust from the adrenalin he still felt, Alucard completely forgot about his father's relics. D was beside him in a second. Together they entered the courtyard of the cathedral. Together they fell to their knees in a sudden, burst of pain shooting into their hearts, followed shortly by their ribs pushing themselves more deeply into their bodies. Both of their eyes became bloodshot, showing the world in a thick veil of red. The dull ache in their ring finger was nothing compare to the sudden and painful growth of their canines tearing through their gums and into their lower lips.

It was so unexpected; neither understood what was happening to the other. All they knew was that they were very close and someone had all five artifacts! The prince was first to his feet but only for a moment as a powerful force swooped down and snatched him off the ground. Still befuddled, the prince didn't know he was in the air or he was just thrown into a stain glass window.

It took all of his concentration to stop the pulsation in his heart, growth in his ribs and to drive back the blood in his eyes. Alucard didn't know why but he rolled away of where he was, instinctively avoiding the wave of dark energy. Snapping to his feet, the prince forced his fangs to return to their proper size. Before him, with a demonic scowl on her face, stood the succubus he banished all those millenniums ago.

"So, it is you," the prince simply said matter-of-factly.

"Yes darling. And I must kindly return the favor of sending me wandering," Dustaya sneered while spending her leathery wings.

"You invaded my mind and raped my memories," Alucard began, drawing his sword and summoning his family's shield, that of his mother's family, with a thought. "That is unforgivable."

A blast of dark energy shot through the demon, which was easily blocked by the prince. Blast after blast, Dustaya through more and more of her hatred and rage into the next attack. Alucard would not yield. He took the full force of her attacks with his shield and slowly began gaining ground and getting into sword range. Though she was in a frenzy, Dustaya knew better than to fight such a dangerous foe with a closed mind.

After one more strong blast, Dustaya took flight in the high room. Calling forth the evil powers within her, the succubus peeled herself into several doppelgangers. Up the prince went, leaping high in the air, slicing through one of the illusions. A bolt of black energy took him to the floor. The second bolt hit the ground as the dunpeal vanished.

Again, she created several more copies of herself, shuffling the real Dustaya in the illusions. But it didn't matter. Normally, whenever Alucard teleported, he gathered his energy for an attack made of hellfire. This time, in the few seconds he was in the astral plane, he focused on the energies in the room from the gentlest fire from a lantern to the powerful spirit of the several demons. Once he returned, the prince released his spell, drawing forth a sliver of spiritual energy from all that he could see. One by one the illusions vanished and the demon fell to the floor, weakened as a part of her evil soul was stolen.

Stalking the demon like a wolf stalking a weakened sheep, Alucard wasn't interested in dragging this on. Torture and taking pleasure in other's misery was nothing that the prince knew. No life that came to the end of his blade was unjustified and never did he show anything but mercy to his enemies. Not even this evil creature, so deserving of his wrath, would see anything but mercy. In a quick thrust, the prince's sword entered the demon's chest, puncturing her heart. A moment later, the succubus screamed and faded from existence.

"Alucard?" a soft voice called, though it was distant, the dunpeal still heard it.

Leaving the room far behind, the prince followed the voice, which steadily called to him and he knew he was getting closer. The prince weaved throughout the old halls, opening a door ever so often. Deeper he went into the cathedral. The call was extremely close as he came before a simple door. As he opened the portal, his eyes widened in shock for what he saw within.

Shackled to a stone wall rested a woman, fair in skin with honey blonde hair that cascaded down her shoulders. Naked, dirty, and hair unkempt, there was no mistaken to the prince. It was the one love of his life. It was Maria Renard.

"Maria?" Alucard answered. Weakly did the woman lift her head, appearing frail and defeated.

"Maria!" the prince shouted, tearing the shackles from the stone walls.

The poor woman fell into his arms. Alucard's heart began to pound with her skin against his body. Gentle whispers from the dunpeal and soft stroking told the woman everything would be fine. Her prince charming was here for her. Alucard never noticed the hand behind his back reformed into a demonic, clawed hand.

* * *

D moved cautiously throughout the cathedral, following the pulse in his heart. He chose to keep the rhythm going. D thought of using the summoning to his advantage to track down the relics. There was still time to stop the resurrection.

"Vampire Hunter D," a masculine voice beckoned from an antechamber.

D knew it was a trap but he also knew the artifacts were most likely in that room. Returning his heartbeat to a comfortable beat, the hunter rested his right hand upon the hilt of his blade before entering the room. The antechamber was dark with only three candles illuminating the room but the dunpeal saw more than what his eyes could see. He felt the power of the evil within the room, the relics, and the individual in the center of the room, whom was holding a large tome. Though his sense of smell wasn't as strong as Alucard's, he could still smell the blood against the walls and the stench of decay.

"Finally, you came. How long has it been? Twelve? Thirteen thousand years before you left Romania? Leaving yourself behind?" the dark priest taunted.

"You seem to know so much about me. Who are you?" D replied, keeping his cool from this man who was the closest individual who almost unnerved him.

"I am Axle the Black Rose. I know all about you…" the priest smirk, waving his hand about, chanting an ancient spell from his family tome.

D took a step before his eyes opened wide in terror. He felt as though his skin was on fire and he felt that he was falling. Twirling in a mist of oblivion, the dunpeal fell to the stone floor. Gone from the conscience world was D.

"…because my family grafted that curse upon your hand, as requested by your father."


	8. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**Civil Combat**

It took a lot for Maria to calm herself, her breathing and heartbeat. Alucard was holding her, bodies pressed together in a tight embrace. The prince's heart was racing; she could feel it through his shirt. There was not a clearer shot to rip into his back and remove his heart from behind. The claw began to burrow into the gentle flesh but the dunpeal was no longer there.

Two swipes from behind drew a thin **X** into the back of the woman. The prince returned in front of the woman with a dark expression on his face. The sneer seemed so unnatural to his beautiful features, it forced the succubus to drop her illusion. She couldn't move, paralyzed by the gaze the dunpeal held her in. A gaze that promised death.

"How?" she managed to sputter.

Alucard face contorted in malice, plunging his sword deep between the demon's breasts. This time, the demon cried loudly but did not vanish. Demons of such lustful nature had two hearts, both of which he was going to puncture. Removing his sword, he still held the demon in his vampiric trance. A growl, nearly animalistic, left his thin lips.

"You may have seemed like Maria but you couldn't hide your demonic stench," Alucard disparaged as he thrust his blade between her breasts again, this time, more targeted on his left.

Another wail left the demon before she slumped to the floor, becoming dust as she hit the stone. His rage subsided; Alucard took a deep breath, finding his normal calm. The prince flinched a moment later as his ring finger began to pulse.

"The resurrection," he whispered to himself.

Like D, the prince used the remaining effect he felt from his father's relics. Alucard moved about the cathedral, following the pulse in his finger. His mind wondered what might have befallen the vampire hunter. If he still lived, why didn't he stop the ritual that the prince knew was happening? Alucard didn't hold any love for his father and if Vladimir rose again, Alucard would just have to put his father back to rest.

Chanting from a room froze him in place. It was time to destroy the one who threatened the people of his homeland. Sending the ache in his finger away, the prince moved into the antechamber, sword and shield in hand.

Entering the room, the prince was greeted by a wave of decay that assaulted his sense of smell. It was dark with the exception at the end of the chamber, where at an alter sat three tall, red candles. In the middle of a pentagram on the floor that was drawn in blood, was a robed figure that had his arms extended. At each point of the pentagram rested each of the relics of Vlad. The arms of the figure lowered and as if sensing the prince's power, the dark priest turned to him.

"Welcome Alucard," the priest smirked with a bow.

"Your blood, it smells like—"

"A Trapoli? Indeed, I am."

"No, your blood should be thinner. I smell Shaft in you, as if he is your grand-father. Great-grand-father to the most," Alucard accused. There was something more to this man.

"Correct dunpeal. My family that continued to raise Dracula practiced incest. The greatest powers of the priests and priestesses of the past flows inside my veins and that included the dark priest, Shaft," Axel finished with a bow.

Alucard didn't think much about the second bow but his instincts screamed at him to defend himself. As the second bow was the cue, down came a crescent blade from the shadows above, which was blocked by the last second by the magical shield. The force, however, knocked the prince to the ground to kneel before his opponent. D tilted his head up, only exposing half of his beautiful features in the candlelight, beautiful features that were ruined when the vampire hunter gave the prince a maniacal grin.

"Dane, once I'm finish with the ritual, I shall make it permanent," Axel said to the vampire hunter. "Keep him busy or kill him. It does not matter."

The long sword swiped high and hard at Alucard's head, intercepted again by the shield. The prince's mind raced. Make what permanent and what sort of spell did he had on the powerful vampire hunter. Moving his shield to the left, Alucard blocked another devastating blow.

Kicking back, the prince began to slash outwards with his own blade but retracted it almost immediately before putting his shield in line with the attacking sword. Alucard knew he couldn't fight D too long like this. The vampire hunter had distance with his nearly five foot long sword and every block with his shield sent a numbing pain in his shield arm. But D was relentless, giving Alucard no room to dodge or fall back.

"D, wake up. You're under a spell," Alucard tried to reason.

His words fell on deaf ears or perhaps not as deaf since the vampire hunter grinned all the more. The long crescent blade slammed into the expected shield, sending Alucard's arm out wide. Faster than the prince could react, D turned his blade around and lunged for the prince's heart. Alucard slumped down as fast as he could to his knees, having the sword plunge through his left shoulder. Within a blink of an eye, the sword was redrawn.

_Damn it, I should've known his sword was made of silver,_ the prince thought as his life essences poured out of his shoulder and wouldn't stop.

The blade came down again and this time it sunk deep into the wall, straight through a cloud of mist. Whenever the prince hated the pain of morphing into a bat or wolf, he always tried to remember how much he loathed becoming mist. Instead of joints popping and bones reshaping, every bit of his being was torn apart in one moment until he was nothing but the water vapors in his body. Keeping the mist form was still very difficult to do as the blinding pain made it difficult for a vampire to keep conscience long enough to stay mist. Still, he managed to hold the shape or lack thereof, long enough to hear D say something.

Out shot the left hand, though it didn't want to open its maw and pull the poor, unsuspecting victim into its void. The hand strained its mouth shut for more than a few seconds before its master demanded it into action. The hand gave a warning before unleashing its wind tunnel.

Rematerializing was equally as painful but the prince got the message from the hand. 'Get out of mist.' Alucard held his ground as the vortex continued to try to pull him in. It was difficult for Alucard to see with the wind and lack of light but he saw in the hand a face of sorts. Throwing a knife at the vampire hunter, the prince flinched more than once as the blade disappeared into the void.

Alucard wouldn't move, regardless of the vampire hunter's power, so D closed his hand and charged with his sword leading the way. Even with his wounded shoulder, Alucard was more prepared for the vampire hunter. Parrying some blows with his sword and blocking others with his shield, the two began playing an eerie symphony of metal against metal. The prince remained on equal footing with the vampire hunter. But he knew it couldn't last. With the previous battle with the succubus and with his wounded shoulder, he would tire first and he knew he needed some strength for the second threat in the room, the priest.

Gritting his teeth, the prince leapt at D, turning into mist the instant D's sword touched his flesh. Moving around the hunter, Alucard drifted slowly towards the priest. As expected, the wind tunnel began to pull him back, which was exactly what he wanted.

Cutting the seconds unbelievably close, the prince rematerialized a heartbeat before the dunpeal hunter, slashing the hand off at the wrist. D neither expected the attack nor had any idea that Alucard's family blade was blessed against vampires. The vampire hunter wailed out in agony but the sound was first of an old man and slowly it fade to a youthful voice. The left hand picked itself off the ground.

"D, wait, I can explain," the left hand known as Dane pleaded.

But the prince was not finished. Sending a huge ball of hell fire at the parasite, an old man voice cried out again as it was burnt to ashes. Tossing another, smaller ball of fire at D, the blast hit the stub on the vampire hunter's wrist, sealing the wound shut.

Taking a few deep breaths, D nodded slightly to his fellow dunpeal. D wasn't sure if Alucard would figure out that his parasitical hand took control of his body and he was imprisoned inside the hand or if he just guessed that severing the hand would free him. Maybe it wouldn't have worked at all but D was grateful for Alucard's actions. A laugh from the end of the room turned both their heads.


	9. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**The Vampire King**

The priest continued to laugh uncontrollably. Even when he began to float without his own magic guiding him or when the artifacts floated themselves and spun about, he laughed. The Rib of Vlad slammed into his mouth, knocking several teeth from the priest and though he groaned from the stunning pain, Axel returned to his hysteria as the Tooth of Vlad embedded itself into his now blooded gums. As the artifact began working its mystical powers, making the priest grow in size and strength, Axel's other canine grew to the same length as the fang.

Power, absolute power, flooded the priest to his very core. So lost that he was in the moment that he never stopped laughing as the rib tore into the soft tissue of his right eye and ripping the ball from its socket. The Eye of Vlad flew into the missing void, desiring a body hungrily. Though the socket continued to bleed, the eye moved in sync with Axel's remaining eye, showing the priest a world of likes he's never known. Details of the environment around him were now shown; the sight of underneath his own skin, seeing his veins in his body, in a veil of red, was astonishing.

The next artifact was the Ring of Vlad, two sizes too big for the priest but it wouldn't be denied. Shrinking, the wedding band tightened itself around Axel's ring finger, becoming two sizes too small. With the ring now a part of him, the dark priest's laughter ceased as his head was whipped back, as if something crashed right into his forehead. Knowledge and wisdom of over ten thousand years entered Axel's mind. If he didn't prepare for this moment, the priest would've died of insanity.

The last two artifacts, floating and circling, wouldn't give the priest a moment to recover. Digging itself into Axel's chest cavity, the rib sawed through the bony sternum all the way down his ribcage. A roar of unimaginable pain howled from the priest as his life essence poured from the mortal wound, his inners hanging out of his body. But the rib wasn't done, not at all. Leisurely cutting the arteries one by one, the rib began to remove the heart from Axel's body. He was dying and as in all human nature, the desire to survive, Axel tried to reach down for his heart, to keep it from leaving him but he was too weak, too far gone.

The priest's body slumped in the air as the undead heart entered the hole in his chest. Still beating, the Heart of Vlad stitched itself to the severed arteries. It wouldn't pump blood, regardless that it thumped. The opposite happened. Instead of giving, the heart stole blood from its new body, even pulling the running blood from the eye back into the body.

Finally, the Rib of Vlad smashed itself into a random rib, shattering it to dust. Replacing the rib, the bone's magic began almost instantly. Every wound began to close. Then, the dark priest finally awoken, gasping for air out of habit, for he no longer needed oxygen to survive as the living dead had no need for it. The ceremony was over and the magic set the priest gently to his feet.

"So that's it. You never wanted to resurrect Count Dracula, you wanted to be the Vampire King," D softly spoke, testing the weight of his blade in his right hand.

The vampire hunter still felt a twang of anger towards this man, this priest whose family line served his father and grafted the parasite onto his left hand. Out of his millenniums of life, D never knew his left hand had a name and neither did he care. The priest used a spell from his tome, transferring his soul and the left hand, Dane, around, making him into a parasitical face on a hand as Dane ruled the rest of his body. Without the annoying hand, everything around him seemed a bit more silent. He could still wield his blade but not as effectively nor as strongly. Being at full strength, D still heard the distant echo of his mother's voice that he wouldn't be able to defeat Dracula but with a severed hand, he truly believed it. Tipping his head down, D stared at the priest's chest, only to hide his eyes under the wide brim of his hat from the priest.

Axel smiled as an answer but the vampire hunter couldn't see it but Alucard sure could. The prince had always hated the line of dark priests and priestesses that served under his father. Shaft he remembered the most, enslaving a powerful Belmont was one thing but summoning a succubus to impersonate his mother, was another. This one, Axel, was far too much like Shaft, forcing two great men to fight one another and then there was the summoning of the same succubus, who impersonated his old love. As the prince began to circle to the right, he flinched as his shoulder wound continued to flow.

"I am impressed that you managed to destroy Dustaya again and to break my control over D," Axel stated confidently, only looking at the dunpeal prince from the corner of his real eye. "And the fact you both survived the other is unbelievable. I expected nothing less from the sons of Count Dracula, even if you both are brothers unknown from the other."

That stopped both dunpeals for a moment. D tilted his hat up to glance at Alucard with half opened eyes. He couldn't deny the resemblance now. It could have been a natural instinct or perhaps it was seeing his father that kept D from looking into a mirror all these millenniums that also kept him from seeing Alucard for who he was. His brother. Thinking on his name, D now understood that if it was pronounced backwards, it would be Dracula. Tipping his hat back down, the vampire hunter stalked his prey. The only thing D needed to know was Alucard, brother or not, wanted nothing more than to kill this man as much as he.

Alucard, too, stared at his fellow dunpeal with half opened eyes. He knew, how much they acted the same, he knew D had to be his brother, probably an older one. Thinking back to their first run in, Alucard knew the single letter sounded so familiar. When Vladimir wasn't at war, he was a political figure and if he wasn't writing a love letter to Alucard's mother or signing governmental papers, Vlad always signed with a single, decorated D. There was despise in the vampire hunter's eyes but it wasn't aimed towards him, it was aimed towards the priest.

He was not their father but they knew his legacy, the artifacts, were as much as Dracula as the dunpeals wanted to believe. D circled to the left as Alucard moved to the right. Axel was surrounded from both sides but he remained at ease. Both Alucard and D's muscles begged to spring, yet neither dared to make the first move. Instead they waited for their enemy to lead in this three way dance. Their enemy knew them and they needed to know him and his limits.

In a heartbeat, the priest vanished, reappearing in the woodened beams on the ceiling, floating high above the two dunpeal sons of Dracula. Axel, too, watched the reactions from the brothers and he expected that he would've distracted them long enough to get a quick strike in but neither skipped a beat. Actually, without an exchange in words, they circled him, pinning the priest in. Axel couldn't underestimate them, despite their wounds.

How Axel's eyes widened when D leapt with tremendous speed, slashing for the priest/vampire's neck. Thrusting his hand out, the priest called forth his dark priestly powers to send this dunpeal far from him. A blast of black wind smashed into the vampire hunter as his blade was just an inch from the priest's throat, sending D flying away from Axel. The priest's eyes widened again, as Alucard appeared, upside down on the ceiling, thrusting his blade for the priest's heart. Axel sneered, slapping the blade away and vanishing again.

Reappearing in the center of his pentagram, the priest knew his magic couldn't even begin to rival the speed and strength of these two men. Twice they almost killed him without much effort. It was a gamble but he began to call forth his vampiric abilities to polymorph into a much more powerful entity.

Contorting and shaking far worst than Alucard's metamorphosis, the priest hollered at the pain he felt from his bones reshaping and his muscles expanding more than his body should have allowed. The priest grew in size and bulk, his skin's pigment blooded to a deep red from his usual pale white. Both D and Alucard looked up at the priest, now at twelve feet in height, as his face was pushed out from his head and into a gruesome, demonic head. Tearing of flesh echoed in the high walled room, as two enormous, leathery wings expanded from Axel's back.

"Stand your ground, Alucard," D said passively.

"I figured a man who worshiped chaos would enjoy the plane of the Abyss. No surprise, since he summoned a succubus," the prince replied, glaring at the beast.

Both dunpeals knew this was most likely going to be there last stand and moments in life. Even if they defeat Axel, they couldn't believe they would live through it. With the magic of a wise dark priest, the powers of the Vampire King and now the abilities of the greatest demonic tanar'ri, a Bolrog, it seemed impossible. It didn't matter to either of them. D lifted his chin up, waving his long sword back and forth. Alucard brought his shield to bear, keeping his sword back and at the ready. A whip made completely of fire snapped at them simultaneously, blasting them several feet from Axel. The demon laughed.


	10. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

**To Win, To Survive, To Die**

The Bolrog howled, not in pain but in annoyance. Everything he through at the dunpeals, a fire whip here, a blast of dark energy there, caused serious damage to the mixed breeds and Axel knew it. Yet neither pleased his ears with the cry of agony or hatred. All they did was get back up, winded, but readying themselves for another attack. It was so annoying to the dark priest.

With all the rage within him, the priest stomped his clawed foot to the floor, igniting the entire antechamber ablaze. The sudden burst of heat froze D in place, as if he ran into a brick wall. The dunpeal felt his heart beginning to race as his lungs started to constrict his breathing. If he was given a moment, he would've fell to his knees if Axel didn't take the hunter off his feet with his flaming whip. Little did the priest know that he gave himself an unexpected advantage when he heated up the room.

Alucard took the opening presented to him. The prince hated using the vampire hunter and a brother at that, as a distraction but he didn't have much of a choice. The dunpeal knew he couldn't fight this creature head on. With his supernatural speed, the prince sprinted to the demon and slashed out with his sword, blessed to eat into the flesh of evil. The blade sunk into a blocked arm but the Bolrog seemed less than amused.

With a flick of his wrist, Axel sent the prince flying towards a wall of fire. The priest smirked with a nod, feeling the prince was finished. He was wrong. A heartbeat before the prince hit the wall; he morphed into a bat and rammed the demon with greater speed than Axel could've believed. The sheer, unexpected force of the bat projectile blasted the demon against the far wall, destroying the walled map made of hundreds of pints of frozen blood.

The prince morphed back to his humanoid body, breathing harder than he ever had in his life. He was taxed and he knew it. Anymore of tapping into his vampiric powers would cost him dearly, if not his humanity than his life. Alucard glanced over at D, seeing that he wasn't getting any help from the vampire hunter, whom seemed to be holding his throat. Turning his attention back to the demon, the prince brought up his shield in time to intercept the incoming fiery whip. The fire never touched his flesh but the strength behind it sent him to the floor and many feet away.

D growled low but it did him no good. The heat that surrounded him was baking D from the inside. Of all times that his heat syndrome could weaken him. The dunpeal knew he was quickly falling into shock and he didn't have the strength to flee, to cool his body. It was difficult for him seeing his younger brother fighting for his life when he couldn't move. How weak and useless he felt.

Alucard dismissed his shield with a thought, preferring to be light weighted, trusting in his agility as better protection. The prince jumped over the whip and stabbed a worthless strike at the demon's abdomen. The whip came back around but Alucard was too fast, ducking under the weapon and slashing another flesh wound. The demon punched and the dunpeal rolled but the attack was a ruse. Using his vampiric powers, the priest caught the prince in a web of physic energy.

"What!" the prince shouted in surprise.

Up the prince went, against his own will. Alucard flailed in the invisible net without prevail. The demon sneered or maybe it was a smirk to its ugly face as he held the dunpeal at his mercy.

"Now… I shall rip you apart, limb from limb! I will hear your SCREAMS and I will bask in your AGONY! And only when you beg for mercy will I tear out your heart, leaving you as nothing more than dust," Axel growled in a booming voice.

"I don't beg," Alucard passively said.

With a bellow, the demon unloaded on the prince, striking him again and again with the powerful, flamed whip. Alucard grunted and groaned as the flames licked at his flesh. Fire he couldn't heal immediately from and the strength behind the blows caused unbelievable pain. But he would not scream. It was all annoying to Axel, so he struck even harder.

D watched on, useless to help his brother. The dunpeal shook his head. It was more than that. He hated his father and this priest as equals. It killed the dunpeal that he couldn't sink his sword into the beast's chest. With his emotions came flashes of memories of the distant past. Watching Vlad rape his mother, the Vampire King smiled at his son while in the act, fangs bared, always smiling.

D had had enough. Deep inside his very soul was the vampire hunter's true power, that of his vampiric side, of his father's side. The power he despised but it was bottomless and he needed it. His eyes began to glow a bright blue and with an inhumanly wail, a force of energy blast all around the room, snuffing out all the fire, the fire whip and the hold Axel had on Alucard.

The prince fell into a roll, struck the demon in the gut and backpedaled to his fellow dunpeal. The prince wasn't going to question his good fortune. Alucard was about to offer a hand to D but the vampire hunter was rising on his own. Though his heat syndrome still made him fatigued, D thought he wanted to die on his feet. Laughter erupted in front of the two.

"Yes! This is what I desire! What the Fates desire! If I deserve this power, neither of you should be here. I must _earn_ it," the Bolrog finished, calling for two massive swords from the Abyss.

"He talks too much," Alucard softly said, only loud enough for D to hear. The vampire hunter nodded.

The Bolrog continued with his laughter for a moment before a gentle wind began to blow, emanating from the vampire hunter. In the darkness, only D's glowing blue orbs could be seen, promising death, his death. An unseen force blew the massive demon back into the wall. This was the moment for D. To either win, run and survive, or die for his cause, his only cause. The orbs glided towards the demon. An instant of pain exploded in the priest's chest.

"Get the hell off me!" Axel cried, smacking the vampire hunter away.

As one, the dunpeals and the demon eyes began to glow a bright red. All saw the other in the darkness and a realm of infrared spectrum. Though the demon's chest continued to bleed, he was still very much alive. D rose silently, seeming more disappointed than infuriated of the perfect strike. Alucard merely moved to D, appreciating his work.

"If impaling his heart won't kill him, what will?" Alucard asked the experienced vampire hunter.

"I don't know," D simply replied, still hearing the echo of his mother's final words to him. "I'm not strong enough to defeat him."

Alucard glanced over to his brother, truly expecting a different answer. Though D's words sounded final, his stance was not that of a defeated man. Leveling his sword, the dunpeal hunter side stepped to Alucard. Softly, only audible to the prince's keen ears, D spoke.

"I can't defeat him… alone."

That was all the prince needed to hear. As one, D and Alucard charged the demon. As one they were blow away by a magically enhanced howl from Axel. The demon would've laughed if a silver dagger didn't sink itself into his vampiric eye. Axel howled in agony as his night vision began to blink off and on. It didn't take him long to prepare himself after seeing for only a heartbeat, the two dunpeals sharing a nod. They knew something. The priest trusted in his magic and the swords he held. They were Vorpal blades, enchanted to seek out and decapitate any man and dunpeals were no exception. When the two charged again, the demon crossed his swords. The magic was true, as the blades sliced through both Alucard's and D's necks. At least, their afterimages.

Axel knew his folly but he couldn't do anything to stop what happened next, for just a second was all the two needed. With a grand leap, D took to the air but not with his blade leading. Instead he flipped his sword over, smashing the pommel into the beast's jowls. In one fluent move, D sheathed his sword and grabbed the loosened fang as well as Alucard's dagger with the eye still connected to the blade, in one hand, the vampire hunter bounded away with the two artifacts.

The prince took his opportunity to run up the human size sword to spring board himself to the massive hand holding the blade. In a single swipe, right between the first knuckle, Alucard disengaged the ring finger holding his father's wedding band from the beast's hand. As he dropped to the floor, he gently removed the ring before sliding backwards, easily avoiding a chop from above. Both dunpeals tossed the relics over their shoulders.

The priest howled as he went blind and the weight of the swords felt heavier. It took all of Axel's concentration to keep himself in his Bolrog form, for he just forgot how he did the spell. He knew that he was in trouble. Axel felt his strength, his improved knowledge and what he could only assume to be luck was failing him. Against two extremely powerful foes in the darkness, that didn't sit well with him.

A pair of red eyes moved towards the priest. Those eyes were the only thing he could see so the demon crossed his swords in a huge **X** and thrust towards the dunpeal. Flashes of sparks began to illuminate a small area as the demon's blades were both held by one extremely long sword. Only D's chin and lips could be seen as his hat covered his red glowing eyes. Unlike the Vorpal swords, designed to guide the wielder to the target's neck, D's blade was sharpened extremely well, down to the very finest edge that the metal could go. Using his strength, D shattered both blades with his sword.

An explosion of pain ripped into Axel's gut. A prodding hand, being Alucard or D the priest couldn't be certain, wrapped their fingers around his rip and tore it straight from his body. The blinding pain was too much for the priest to continue to hold his form. Muscles and bones collapsed within themselves to expose the bony, pale of a man Axel truly was. In his attempt to defend himself, he illuminated the room.

The spell was a waste. Both Alucard and D were floating towards him, spinning around the other like a corkscrew. The sight was death, a horrific death, as both swords tore into his chest and plucked out his heart. The priest wanted to scream, to curse, or even beg for mercy. But a pile of dust could not speak and was only good to be swept under a rug.


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It was an ironic view of beauty that the brothers behold when the landscape of Romania bloomed with life from the rising sun. The land reflected their own beauty and both felt more alive, more human by witnessing what their vampiric family could not, the dawn. Both stood on Castlevania Heights and what was left of the ancient castle, admiring the new day. They accomplished something today, which made the world seem brighter. But once the birds began to sing, D was done sharing the moment and turned and walked away from the cliff.

"So… where will you go now?" the prince asked gently as he continued to gaze at the beautiful land.

The vampire hunter stopped but would not regard his brother's question. D didn't think it would matter, so he kept silent. Alucard was a dunpeal that he respected but that didn't make him family and since they would part, they most likely would never see the other again. As time passed the vampire hunter slowly turned his head slightly so he could see Alucard out of the corner of his eye.

"You?" D asked.

Alucard turned to his brother whose privacy he knew he couldn't hope to break. Seeing D in the light, the prince knew he was holding onto false hopes, that maybe he found someone who could bring him peace. But since D would not answer his question he would not answer the vampire hunter's. As D moved again the prince dashed to get ahead of him, blocking his path.

"Wait. There is something I wish to give you," the prince said with eagerness in his features.

D halted, raising his head so to see the prince but other than that, the vampire hunter made no other move, nothing to indicate to the prince that he neither wants nor doesn't want anything from him. Taking out his dagger, Alucard reached out for his brother. Though D was more than skeptical about his brother's motives as the prince indicated to his stub, he decided to place his left wrist into Alucard's hand.

In a flash, a searing pain burst through the vampire hunter's wrist. With a wince, D withdrew his arm from his brother with a look of hurt and betrayal. That quickly faded, however, when the dunpeal saw Alucard measuring his own wrist. D was now curious and watched as the prince slid his dagger into his own flesh, tearing through joints and bone alike.

Picking up the limb, Alucard moved over to his brother, relieved the cut and length was perfect. Pushing D's wrist and his severed hand together, the prince lifted his stub, pouring with his life essences to D's face. After a long moment, Alucard looked up to his brother and notices his head was turned to the side in disgust.

"What I need you to do—"

"I shall not drink blood," D passively said but Alucard heard a touch of anger in his voice.

"So you plan on letting me sever my hand for nothing, brother?"

It wasn't the disappointment in Alucard's voice that unnerved the vampire hunter but that one word. Neither of them even acknowledged the other and now, that simple word shook him to the core. Taking his free hand, the dunpeal slid his thumb across Alucard's stub before bringing it to his lips. As the blood oozed down his throat, a long forgotten hunger seemed satisfied and the wrist's skin snapped a hold of the hand, stitching together. In a heartbeat, D began moving the new hand with ease.

Alucard knew the answer to his question the moment he asked it to his brother. There were still vampires out there and having only one hand crippled D's success in battle. A smile crossed the prince's face while sealing his wound with a ball of fire. He didn't have to look up; he already knew D was gone. Taking a look at his left wrist, he figured he just needed to find a new way to hold his shield, if ever, again.

Taking out one of the five relics from his bag, Alucard admired his father's wedding band. It was a token of Lisa's love to Vlad and those were the only memories Alucard had when Dracula was truly happy. Being a token of love between his parents and for convenient purposes, the prince fumbled to put the ring onto his finger. Once having the ring in his possession, Alucard began his last journey to Transylvania.

D continued his march as fast as he could, leaving both his distance and now short-term memories behind him. It was quiet, too quiet. The vampire hunter paused and gazed around his surroundings, taking a hold of his sword by the handle. Many, many heartbeats passed before D realized that he was alone for the first time in his long life. He couldn't stop a soft smile creeping onto his gentle features. About this time his old left hand would make some wise crack like, "aw, you were in trouble, so it was a good thing your brother gave you a hand."

Bringing his new hand to his eyes, D flexed the fingers of those of its previous owner. A chuckle escaped his lips as he felt foolish for thinking he could run from the past and now, with his brother's hand as his own, the past will always be with him. Looking over his shoulder, he thought of Alucard and figured the question he asked was quite foolish as well. D knew Alucard's character, for the vampire hunter knew someone like him before. Alucard would deliver the artifacts to the guardians of the Renard family and return back to sleep for, hopefully, the last time.

The vampire hunter returned to his trek, getting lost in his new found silence and freedom. Hunts might get harder for the dunpeal without the parasite but he was sure he would manage. So lost was he in his new peace, he completely forgot about his payment. Though it didn't matter, for his freedom and privacy was his own now and that was payment enough.

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**Author Note:** I would like to take this time to thank those who read and reviewed this piece that took me so long to create. Thanks: Daryl Falchion, Kitala, Female Heero Yuy, and FireSenshi2 for taking the time to read my work and giving me some needed input. And I thank anyone else reading this and finished reading "Brothers Unknown." Please leave me a review before leaving. Thanks again.


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